10 Code Review Anti-Patterns That Slow Down Your Team
Code reviews are meant to be a safety net, but in many organizations, they become a bottleneck. When the review process is broken, pull requests (PRs) languish for days, developers get frustrated, and velocity plummets.
Here are 10 common anti-patterns we've observed in engineering teams—and how to fix them.
1. The "Nitpick" Avalanche
Reviewers focus exclusively on style, indentation, or variable naming rather than logic, architecture, or security. The Fix: Automate styling with Prettier/ESLint. If it's not caught by the linter, it's usually not worth blocking the PR for.
2. The Ghost Reviewer
A developer opens a PR, and it sits in silence for days. No one picks it up, or assigned reviewers ignore notifications. The Fix: Set a "First Response" SLA (e.g., within 4 hours). Use Slack integrations to nudge reviewers automatically.
3. The Rubber Stamp
The opposite of nitpicking. Reviewers provide a quick "LGTM" (Looks Good To Me) without actually reading the code. The Fix: Make code reviews a recognized part of the workload, not something done "in between" real work.
4. The Megabyte PR
A single PR containing 2,000+ lines of changes across 50 files. It’s impossible to review thoroughly. The Fix: Enforce small, atomic PRs. Aim for under 300 lines of code per review.
5. The Ping-Pong Match
Endless back-and-forth comments on a single line of code that could be resolved in a 2-minute sync. The Fix: If a discussion goes past 3 comments, move it to a call or huddle. Post the resolution back in the PR.
6. The "While You're At It" (Scope Creep)
Reviewers ask the author to fix unrelated bugs or refactor distant parts of the codebase just because they are "near" the current changes. The Fix: Keep reviews focused on the PR's specific goal. Create follow-up tickets for unrelated improvements.
7. The Late-Stage Architectural Veto
Waiting until the code is finished and tested to tell the developer that the entire approach is wrong. The Fix: Discuss the design before coding starts. Use RFCs or quick design docs for significant changes.
8. The Knowledge Silo
Only one person "can" review a certain part of the codebase, leading to massive delays when they are busy or away. The Fix: Use code reviews as a teaching tool. Have junior devs review senior code and vice versa to spread knowledge.
9. The Subjective Debate
Reviewers enforce personal preferences ("I prefer map over forEach") as if they were objective bugs.
The Fix: Differentiate between "Critical" (must fix) and "Suggestions" (up to the author). Use the "nit:" prefix for subjective points.
10. The Unclear Feedback
Comments like "This is confusing" or "Fix this" without explaining why or providing a better alternative. The Fix: Be specific. Explain the risk of the current approach and provide a suggested alternative.
How Mesrai Helps
Mesrai eliminates several of these anti-patterns automatically:
- ▹Catches the "nits" so humans don't have to.
- ▹Provides architectural context to prevent late-stage vetos.
- ▹Acts as a consistent reviewer that never ignores a PR.